R.R. Patil booked for ‘hate’ speech

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Bengaluru: An FIR has been filed against Maharashtra home minister R.R. Patil by Karnataka police for promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race or language for his alleged provocative speech on Belgaum issue, a bone of contention between the two states.
Belgaum is in Karnataka borders Maharashtra, which lays claim to the area because of its largely Marathi-speaking population. The dispute between the two states over Belgaum has a history of violence.
Patil has also been booked under Represen-tation of People Act for violation of the election code for the May 5 Assembly poll in the state, police said here on Thursday.
The FIR was filed for “provocative utterances” by Patil at a function organised here on Sunday to celebrate the birthday of Kiran Thakur, leader of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi (MES) and editor of Marathi daily Tarun Bharat, according to Belgaum Superintendent of Police Sandeep Patil.
Patil said that “injustice should not be done to Marathi people living in border states,” but the overall speech was allegedly laced with “provoaction.”
In his speech, Mr Patil had allegedly made provocative remarks while recalling the incident when the then Belgaum Mayor, Vijay Pandurang More, was attacked here several years ago for a resolution by the civic body seeking merger of Belgaum.